Next: grow your own transplant

Women who have lost a breast to cancer could soon be able to grow a new one, using a breakthrough in stem cell technology developed by Australian surgeons.

As well, breast tissue grown inside the body could be used instead of silicone implants to boost breast size.

Surgeons at the Bernard O'Brien Institute of Microsurgery, at Melbourne's St Vincent's Hospital, have produced a pig's breast by growing fat and muscle tissue in the animal.

Until now, tissues have been grown in a Petri dish, but the new technology ensures that the organ has a blood supply, necessary for transplantation.

This could lead to organs being grown from tissues in the body, Professor Wayne Morrison told the International Confederation of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery in Sydney yesterday."The benefits of growing tissues within the body from our own cells mean that there is a much less chance of rejection."

The technology could eliminate the need for some transplants in the next 10 years, he said. "The breakthrough also offers hope to diabetics, as the study has shown that it is possible to grow a pancreatic-like structure, which produces its own insulin, within an animal . . . similar studies are being used for liver regeneration."

During yesterday's keynote speech, Professor Morrison revealed how researchers had grown fat and muscle tissue through an inserted chamber which promotes blood vessel growth. The chamber is a small implant which contains scaffolding on which tissue can grow.

"The research found that blood vessels within the chamber encourage tissues to grow. These tissues then begin to target, or recruit, stem cells in our body to develop in this chamber . . . these recruited stem cells then begin to develop into the exact type of tissue which we are trying to create."

Professor Morrison believes the chamber model, used to grow the pig breast, could potentially be used to grow fat tissue in humans, and help in breast reconstruction and augmentation.